


Not That Blonde

by stranger_thanfiction



Series: Stranger Things 30 Day Challenge [6]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Canon Compliant, Karen-centric, i mean it's kind of sad but not really, mostly - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-09 18:00:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19892005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stranger_thanfiction/pseuds/stranger_thanfiction
Summary: What, you thought Mike and Nancy got all their talent and intelligence fromTed Wheeler?Or, an exploration of the character of Karen Wheeler.Spoilers for Season Three!





	Not That Blonde

**Author's Note:**

> Today's prompt from @hey-dingus 's tumblr 30 Day ST Challenge was favorite adult, but I already wrote about Hopper, and I have something for Joyce later. I decided to delve a little bit into Karen Wheeler, and why her talk with Nancy is so emotional.  
> I fabricated a lot of this story, but much of this is coming from high school stories from my mother, who was Nancy's age in the eighties. Girls, especially in small town America, were not considered to be mathematically gifted, and who knows how much talent was snuffed out. Even today in my town, women in scientific fields struggle to make headlines. (The world is changing, but at a much slower place) Also, fun fact, this piece passes the Bechdel Test :) 
> 
> If you enjoyed this, as always, give me kudos and comments because they work better than coffee as writing fuel. If you disliked it or have questions, my tumblr is @modernfeminismtalking

Karen Smith is the shining star of her seventh grade class. 

Her teacher tells Mrs. Smith that Karen is the most outstanding student to pass through Hawkins Middle School. She’s had straight A’s since pre-school and a love for science that has her teacher convinced she needs to take advanced math courses in high school.

Karen’s smile is brighter than her blonde hair that flows down past her shoulders when her mother tells her this at the dinner table later that night. Her older brothers sulk and roll their eyes before her father looks up from his plate.

“That’s nice, dear,” he says unenthusiastically, “but what’s the cost? And we’re not paying for her to go to school, so get that out of your head, when we’ve got the boys to pay for. College is a pretty penny, and I’m not spending my hard earned money on her so she can become a secretary.” 

Her mother glances at her before painting a forced smile on her face. 

“Well, hon, the classes are paid for with our tax dollars, and the teacher said that Karen may be a candidate for scholarships to bigger places--even Notre Dame or Northwestern,” Mrs. Smith says cheerfully, her hands shaking as she cuts the potatoes on her plate.

Her father, not looking up from his plate, just hums in acknowledgment and continues to eat. 

“We’ll see, Beverly.”

Karen Smith is fourteen when she’s placed in Algebra 2, having tested out of both Trigonometry and Algebra 1. She walks into the class, a light pink dress on with a cherry bow in her long blonde ponytail, filled with twenty other upperclassmen boys.

The room falls silent. She can feel their eyes following her as she sits down directly in the middle of the room. 

She tries to ignore their stares, pulling out her notebook and pencil. Karen can hear the snickers behind her and takes a deep breath. 

Before anything can happen, the teacher walks in. A lanky man in Poindexter glasses and a bow tie, he pauses when he sees her.

“Excuse me, miss, I believe you’re in the wrong class?” he questions her, impatiently. 

Karen quirks a perfectly coiffed brow. 

“This is Algebra 2? With Mr. DeFazio?” she questions, glancing down at her schedule. 

“Well, yes, but I do not remember seeing you on my roster, Miss?” 

“Smith, sir. And if you don’t mind, please check again, I just was placed here this morning.”

She throws in the sweetest smile she can muster, and the teacher sighs. 

Mr. DeFazio walks to his desk, and quickly glances through the list before flushing red. His eyebrows raise into his hairline before looking back at the class.

“I was mistaken, Miss Smith, you are, in fact, on my roster for this class,” he begins, peering over his glasses at the young girl, “I hope you are prepared for the challenges you will face in this course.” 

She squares her shoulders and nods firmly back at her teacher. 

“Yes, sir.” 

It’s the middle of the semester when one of the boys in the class yanks her ponytail. 

It’s before the bell rings, and Karen’s got a pretty green bow in her hair to match the white shirt and skirt ensemble she’s wearing today. 

The pull makes it fall on the floor. 

She’s sitting, so thankfully she doesn’t have to bend over to quickly snatch it off the floor, but she can still feel their eyes on her. 

She shoots the offending boys a dirty look, who in turn scoff at her.

“You’re not funny, Andrew,” she says simply as she ties her hair back up into a pony, this time at the nape of her neck. 

“Aw, c’mon, Blondie, we’re just havin’ a little fun,” the football player grins back, “you wanna have some fun sometime? You, me, edge of the woods?” 

Karen resists the urge to gag and plasters a smile on her face. 

“Sorry, Drew, I’m already going steady with someone, but I’ll let you know if my standards ever drop to moron.” 

Drew’s smile grows wider. 

“You, Blondie, Ms. All Show and No Go, going steady with someone? ” he guffaws and the boys around him mimic, “That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard this year.” 

Karen thinks of Donnie with his dark hair and tanned skin, and smiles to herself despite the laughing hooligans. She sits back in her chair right as the bell rings and DeFazio walks in. 

The subject is dropped as class is started, but Karen later reads glamour magazines to try and find ways to style her hair without the ribbon and ponytail. 

Karen Smith is fifteen and three-quarters when she meets Teddy Wheeler. Teddy’s in her homeroom, and looks unbothered when Mrs. Walker introduces him to the class. 

He’s got light green eyes and a mop of dark black hair that’s slicked back with grease. Teddy’s got a simple button up and a sweater on, and has his bag thrown over one shoulder without a care.

Karen writes him off as stuck up and focuses on finishing her writing exercises before third period.

Of course, Karen’s quite popular for a sophomore, so her friends immediately flock to her throughout the school day.

Teddy’s not even conventionally attractive, but it’s not every day when there’s a new person in Hawkins, especially halfway through the school year. Rumors spiral out of control. 

“I heard his brother was caught in the draft and died over in ‘Nam,” Rachel whispered to her in the hallway in between classes that morning.

“Hop heard that he’s got a sick relative in town and that he’s here to take care of ‘em,” Joyce says carelessly as she tosses her apple on Karen’s tray at lunch. 

“I heard a rumor that his dad kicked the shit out of his mom and they had to move here after the pigs caught on,” Stacy McClaine whispers to her in the back of the home economics classroom. 

“Yeah, well I heard that Ted’s got anger issues and he got kicked out of the last three schools he’s been to,” Drew cackles to his posse before Pre-Calculus. 

Karen rolls her eyes at their comments and opens her books up. 

Chemistry is at the end of her day, and she’s sick of hearing about Teddy Wheeler as she trudges her saddle shoes into the class. 

Mr. Major is an unconventional teacher, and decides to switch lab partners at random intervals just to make sure the students are paying attention to the lessons.

This, unfortunately, is how Karen ends up with the infamous Wheeler boy as her lab partner. 

Karen introduces herself and tries to be nice, but Wheeler seems to care less as he grabs the lab sheet and begins scanning it. 

“Okay, so we’re working with chemicals here, uh, Kathy, was it? If you wanna start taking notes, I’ll go grab the materials and start the procedure so maybe we’ll get a good grade on this,” he says flippantly, walking off to the front of the class without a response from her. 

Karen takes a deep breath, puts her short blonde hair into a ponytail at the nape of her neck, and adjusts her goggles to cover her eyes. 

They’re working with potassium chloride and fire, after all. 

Wheeler comes back with the salt, matches, and the glass beaker meant to hold the reaction. 

Karen makes a grab for the matches, but Wheeler snatches them up.

“I told you, Blondie, I’ll do the experiment. You take the notes,” he huffs at her. 

She’s about to retort but holds her tongue--she just wants to get the experiment over with. 

“Okay, so first I’m placing the chloride in the beaker. There’s .45 grams,” he begins, narrating his actions slowly. 

Karen rolls her eyes and copies this down.

“Next, I’m going to light the matches and hopefully, the fire will burn a special color.”

He emphasizes the word color, like she’s stupid, like she hasn’t known that potassium chloride burns purple ever since she stole her brother’s science magazines when she was eight.

Wheeler drops the match into the beaker. The salt erupts into a bright pink flame, and Wheeler’s face drops into panic mode. 

Karen smirks and raises her eyebrows at him.

“By any chance, Wheeler, did you grab lithium chloride instead of potassium chloride?” 

“No, it didn’t specify, Kacey, it just said the flame should be purple. Lithium chloride burns purple.”

“My name is Karen, jerk, and you’re wrong. Potassium chloride burns purple, lithium burns bright pink.” 

The pair’s bickering attracts Mr. Major, who strides over with his crooked goggles and examines their pink flame. 

“Ah, Ms. Smith, I expected better from you. I know you know the difference between chlorides.”

Karen feigns a sorrowful expression. “Yes, I know, Mr. Major, but Wheeler here insisted he knew more than I did about science. It won’t happen again.”

Wheeler’s face is flushed bright red, and Major seems satisfied, brushing past them to keep Drew from lighting his partner on fire. 

“Was that necessary, Karen?” he whispered to her angrily, watching her calmly set out the fire and begin to rinse the beaker.

“Yes, Teddy, it was, because you’re one of many men to decide that because I’m a girl and blonde, I have no idea what I’m talking about,” she hisses back.

He rolls his eyes back at her. 

“I’m sorry, alright?” he murmurs after a while, “I’ve never met a smart blonde. Sue me for thinking you were anything except an airhead.”

Karen looks over at him, shocked that he said that he said that to her. 

“Well, I’m not surprised that you are an asshole,” she retorts as the bell rings, and she collects her books as his eyes follow her, gawping after. 

Karen Smith is seventeen when her guidance counselor tells her to kiss her dreams of college goodbye. 

She’s tugging on her now-brunette hair, today in curls framing her face, and her left leg is rapidly jumping up and down. 

She has the grades to get into any school she wants to, and is even taking college-level math courses at Hawkins Community College, but Mr. Richards tells her that no respectable college wants a girl in their math program, let alone to pay for it. 

Karen’s witnessed the arguments between her parents first hand over her furthering her education after she graduates in May. She knows the price is too high for three children, but she feels resentful that her brothers are nearly guaranteed to go. 

In Mr. Richards office, she smiles gracefully and thanks him for taking the time to talk with her. He waves her off, and she exits the office, making sure to wave to his secretary Pam on the way out. 

She walks into the empty hallway listlessly. Donnie is waiting outside, like he always is, and is holding her books. 

“How’d it go?” he smiles crookedly, helping her into the straps of her bag. 

Karen is silent for a moment, thinking of what to say, but she can only make out the “He said-” before a sob chokes out the rest of her sentence. 

Donnie’s face drops, and he pulls her into his arms.

Karen knew it was going to be a dream, but she didn’t think it was going to be impossible. 

Donnie takes her home, holding her hand over the stick shift and letting her cry until they reach her front door. 

He lets her go after having her promise to call, and she walks into the house as if she was aimless. 

Her mother greets her with a smile, but upon seeing Karen’s face, she quickly sweeps her daughter into a firm embrace. 

Karen tells her what happened, and Beverly looks down at her daughter, tears staining her beautiful face.

“You may not be able to go to college, Kary, but this means you can do something else with your life. You could settle down, have a family, and you can still be happy,” she wipes the tears from Karen’s face, the smile not quite reaching her eyes. 

Later, on the phone with Donnie, he disagrees with her mother. 

“You’re one of the smartest skirts I’ve ever met, Karen, I think you could be great.”

She laughs wetly, and fiddles with the promise ring he gave her last month. 

“I don’t think it’s in the cards for me, Donnie. He’s right, I wouldn’t get in, let alone get a scholarship. Even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to find a job.”

“Now, I don’t think that’s true. You’ve got the potential to be great.”

She blushes lowly, and smiles to herself.

“I’ll keep thinking on it, Donnie. Now, can you give me a hand with this theory? I understand the Bohr model…” 

And so the pair went off, talking about science until Beverly nearly cut the phone line at curfew.

Karen Smith is seventeen when she graduates high school, and is eighteen when she gets engaged to Donnie Debrino. 

She’s the happiest she’s ever been in a while, ever since the news about the college, and she and her mother throw themselves into wedding planning. 

Karen goes over to the Debrino’s one afternoon, to get Donnie’s opinion on whether lilac or hyacinth would be good for the reception, and finds Donnie with Tracey MacDonald. 

She doesn’t remember exactly what happened. Karen vaguely recalls throwing both her rings at him, and slamming the door behind her, but she doesn’t remember how she found her way to the bus station in the rain. 

Donnie has driven her around since he got his license at sixteen, so she realizes belatedly that she doesn’t know the bus schedule, and she may be waiting for hours. Dress soaked and mascara running, she’s sitting on the bench in the pouring rain when she hears a honk.

Karen looks up to see Ted Wheeler himself in a station wagon, cigarette in hand. 

“Need a ride, Kelsey?” he shouts over the pounding of the water on the pavement, and Karen pauses a moment before accepting. 

What a knight in shining wheels. 

Karen Smith is twenty when she becomes Karen Wheeler, wife to one of the most uninteresting and uninterested men in all of Hawkins, and she’s nearly twenty-one when she realizes she needs to pick up a hobby. 

Karen finds a love for romance novels and long baths. She and Ted find a nice little home, close to another newer couple, the Sinclairs, and plan to settle down nicely. Ted is the breadwinner, an accountant, and Karen stays at home, cleaning and cooking with an apron and everything. 

She’s very happy.

At twenty-two, Karen Wheeler becomes a mother to a small baby girl, and begins to wonder if this is why college didn’t work out. She dotes on little Nancy, and silently promises herself to raise her to be everything Karen was told she couldn’t. 

At twenty-five, Karen has another baby, this time little Michael, and is struck with awe at how loving her sweet boy is. She decides to teach him respect from a very young age; the world doesn’t need anymore Donnies or Drews. 

At thirty-three, Karen has her third and officially final baby, Holly, and now has her hands full with three children and a loving but unhelpful husband. Karen’s life is now filled with ballet lessons, trips to the grocery store, and even hosting Michael’s friends in the basement for when they play their little game.

Her life isn’t glamorous, but she’s happy. 

She’s very happy. 

Michael’s best friend goes missing when he’s twelve, and shortly after so does Nancy’s best friend. Joyce Byers’ son resurfaces after a week, but Barbara never does. Her oldest children, now fifteen and twelve respectively, deal with the grief of these events by turning in on themselves, and Karen silently misses her sweet children. 

The kids continue to branch out of the house, giving her more time with Holly and Ted and maybe even some lunches with the other moms.

She’s in the bath one night months later when Ted refuses to get the door. Frustrated, she puts on her towel to answer the door and is shocked to see Donnie on the other side. 

Well, no, it’s not Donnie, but _Billy_ , one of Michael’s friend’s brothers, and he’s looking for his sister. 

Karen, overcome, numbly directs him to the Byers and he leaves, but not without a little flirtation. 

The past comes back to haunt you. 

Before she knows it, it’s summertime again, and both Michael and Nancy have significant others that draw them out of the house. 

Nancy receives an internship with The Hawkins Post, and Karen’s never been prouder in her life.

The weather is nice, so Karen uses this time to go to the pool. 

She’s blonde again after a decade of being brunette, and she’s just purchased a new swimsuit for the summer. 

The pool trips are lovely, it’s nice to catch up with the other mothers, but the real prize is to be able to gawk at Billy. 

He’s a lifeguard now, and unashamedly flirts with her, before inviting her to the Motel 6 to work on her breaststroke. 

Karen’s going to do it, _she wants to do it_ , but then she sees Ted sleeping with Holly on her way out, and she can’t. 

She gave up her college dreams to raise a family, and she will never stoop to Donnie’s level. 

Nancy comes home a few days later, sobbing about being fired for chasing a story, and Karen sees red. 

She thinks of the hair pulling.

She thinks of the blonde jokes. 

She thinks of potassium chloride.

She thinks of the stacks of college applications she never sent in.

Karen Wheeler tells her daughter to chase her story, and chase her dream, because she never got the chance to.


End file.
